"Anti-woke culture warrior" New leader takes British Conservatives to the right
Kemi Badenoch is considered the favorite of the party base. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
The former business minister presents herself as a cultural campaigner against "woke" politics. (archive image)
Image: dpa
Badenoch prevailed against her rival Robert Jenrick.
Image: dpa
Kemi Badenoch - here next to her jubilant husband Hamish Badenoch - is to lead the Conservative Tories out of their misery.
Image: dpa
Kemi Badenoch was beaming after the election result was announced.
Image: dpa
Kemi Badenoch is considered the favorite of the party base. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
The former business minister presents herself as a cultural campaigner against "woke" politics. (archive image)
Image: dpa
Badenoch prevailed against her rival Robert Jenrick.
Image: dpa
Kemi Badenoch - here next to her jubilant husband Hamish Badenoch - is to lead the Conservative Tories out of their misery.
Image: dpa
Kemi Badenoch was beaming after the election result was announced.
Image: dpa
She is known as a woman of clear words: Kemi Badenoch is the new leader of the Conservative Party. Can the former business minister unite the Tories and lead them back to the top?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The new leader of the British Conservative Party sees herself as market liberal and anti-"woke".
- Kemi Badenoch wants a complete overhaul.
- The members of the Tories elected the former business minister as the successor to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
As the new leader, Kemi Badenoch is to lead the Conservative Party in the UK back into government with a hard right-wing course following the historic defeat in the general election. The members of the Tories elected the former economy minister as the successor to former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as the party announced in London.
Badenoch received 53,806 votes, her rival Robert Jenrick 41,388. The 44-year-old is therefore the first black woman to head a major British party and only the fourth female Tory leader after Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May and Liz Truss.
"It is the greatest honor to have been elected to this position and to lead a party that I love, the party that has given me so much," said Badenoch in her acceptance speech. She also paid tribute to Sunak: "No one could have worked harder in such difficult times," she said of the former head of government and party leader. At the same time, however, she also conceded that the Tories had to be honest with themselves, that mistakes had been made. "It's time to tell the truth," said Badenoch.
The new Tory leader received congratulations from both Sunak and her top political rival, Prime Minister Keir Starmer. She will be an excellent leader, renew the party, stand up for conservative values and take up the fight with the ruling Labor Party, Sunak said on the online platform X. Starmer acknowledged that the first election of a black leader of a Westminster party was "a proud moment for our country".
Tories in misery
Badenoch now heads a party that has not calmed down since Brexit. Within just a few years, five different prime ministers have failed - because they were unable to get to grips with the consequences of leaving the EU and ultimately, like Boris Johnson, because of scandals.
Since the election defeat in July, the Tories - for decades one of the most successful democratic parties in Western Europe - now only have 121 of the 650 MPs in London's House of Commons. The loss of trust among voters is immense. Badenoch must now ensure stability and unity.
But that is likely to be difficult. Badenoch is regarded as a woman of clear words, regardless of person or office. Like Jenrick, the former Secretary of State for Migration, who lost out to her, she is seen as a representative of the right wing of the party. A total of six candidates were in the running. However, moderate candidates such as former Home Secretary James Cleverly were eliminated in the parliamentary group vote before the members had the last word.
The Conservatives continued to transform from a center-right force into a radical right-wing populist party, political scientist Tim Bale told the German Press Agency. What policies does the expert from Queen Mary University of London expect? Calls for as little state interference as possible, a nationalist and anti-immigration tone and opposition to climate neutrality.
Born in London but raised in Nigeria, her parents' home country, Badenoch is considered the favorite of the party base. However, the computer science graduate has revealed few details about her political plans during the party's internal election campaign.
The 44-year-old has long presented herself as an "anti-woke culture warrior" who attracts attention with statements against the supposedly left-liberal establishment. Even during her time as Minister for Equalities - a position she held in addition to her other cabinet post - the mother of three made critical comments on gender issues and argued against an increase in maternity pay.
Are the Tories still the people's party?
"Party members chose Kemi Badenoch because they see her as principled and willing to speak her mind, even if it leads to controversy," political scientist Mark Garnett from Lancaster University told dpa. The style of the staunch Brexit supporter is comparable to that of former Prime Minister Thatcher, who is still revered by many Tory members.
However, Garnett sees the future of the Tories as a people's party in question with their sharp right-wing course. The election in July, in which the social democratic Labour Party replaced the Conservatives after 14 years in government, showed that most voters are still close to the political center.
Pressure from right-wing populist Farage
The immediate challenge for the Conservatives is to win back voters from the right-wing populist Reform UK party. Party leader Nigel Farage, who once played a key role in driving Brexit forward, chased many votes away from the Conservatives. But: "A rapprochement with Reform UK carries the risk of losing support from the center-right spectrum and unintentionally increasing the appeal of the more populist Farage," said Garnett.
And how can the new party leader close the huge gap with the Labour Party, which governs with a large majority? That depends less on her than on how Starmer succeeds in improving public services and boosting economic growth, said expert Bale. And Garnett also emphasizes: "To gain the public's attention, the new party leader must make the best of Labour's mistakes."
dpa